At a block party in Duende Lane, Elissa Atewood was happy Saturday morning to greet neighbors she hadn’t seen in months, hoping they could once again shake the community’s arrow.
He is a third generation palisadian of the fourth generation, built by his grandfather in 1953, threatened by flames. Many of his neighbors lost their homes. Attewood’s daughter was conceived during the disaster, and her grandson is the fifth generation of the family to survive that time.
The party, organized by marquez knolls property owners assn., was the only meeting of the year – music playing from the Speaker, Pueblano-style Tacos Sizzling on the grill, dogs roaming around.
Many residents say it has been difficult to communicate with their neighbors, some of whom have left or are still deciding whether to sell their land or not. They fear that developers will turn what were originally middle tiers into rows of vacant houses without the residents knowing.
Residents gather for the annual marquez knoll party in Pacific Palikades on Saturday.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
“I think it’s hard to overstate how crippling and confusing this has been,” Atewood said. “One of the things we do in our area is we know the contact details of each other so we know who needs help.”
About 40% of the residents in this corner of the Pacific Palisades are senior citizens, according to Haldis Topple, former president of the Marquez Knolls Assn.
The 83-year-old lost his one-room apartment to a flood in January. Tople has called Pacific Palades its home for over 60 years. Now, he is moving from apartment to apartment in Marina del Rey while his house is still in hand.
“I met my husband here. My son was born here,” said Topple. “I decided to rebuild because I can’t live anywhere else. Where will I go?”
Like tople, some residents found it difficult to rebuild their homes. He says he has had three real estate contracts so far, two of which took his money and “went out of the process before dumping me.”
ATWOOD says some insurance companies haven’t paid for the damaged homes they say are needed to speed up the recovery process.
“People are still arguing,” he said, adding that residents who did not lose completely were insured, while those who received a partial loss received less than 10% of the claim payment. “This has been a big setback for us coming back very quickly.”
Resident Michael Eden, a realtor in the area, said it could take five years “for things to settle down.”
Many people fled the area to avoid what was to come: Years of construction, Tople said. “Some of them don’t want to deal with it and sell.”
Eleanor Keare, a resident of Pacific Palisades who lost her home in two fires, sports a “hard hat” that powers half of the block.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Some neighbors took the opportunity to voice their concerns about how the fire and its aftermath were handled. Julie Valentine, who lives in the area, says she is still “abused.”
“I just said it was a lack of leadership, a lack of planning, and a lack of understanding,” Valentine said. “I just feel bad that we have to meet under these circumstances.”
Valentine’s brother was revived after trying to save his home in the Pacific Palikades Area in the highlands. He saved his mother’s home, “holding the field with his finger like a nozzle,” he said.
The shared pain brought many citizens together, but as more people left the community, the bonds of war ended.
Sam Lagana, the broadcast announcer for the Los Angeles Rams, released the team in a speech.
Eleanor Keare, left, the second Pacific resident to lose her home in two fires, greets Gordon and Shirley Wong, right, the owners of the pharmacy, and burns them in the fire.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
“We need to be optimistic because frankly, it’s not easy,” said Lagana. “It doesn’t matter what your situation is – whether you’re completely burned, partially burned, have smoke damage or your mental game has been challenged.”
Among the speakers were representatives from the American Cross and the American Legion, firefighters from Los Angeles Fire Department station 23 and liaisons from the Los Angeles Police Department.
“This is a great community,” Tople said. “We like to keep it that way.”
